Seán and Glen: A Celebration in Lisbon
Seán and Glen’s story began at Dublin Pride in 2018, where a week of Tinder messages turned into a night of laughter, a few too many drinks, and the start of something lasting. In October 2024, they returned to a place close to their hearts, Lisbon, for a wedding defined by style, sentiment, and their shared belief that marriage means “always having your best pal by your side.”
Photographer Adriana Morais | Location Lisbon, Portugal
“On our second date, we went sea swimming. I remember Seán being very handsome, having a deep love for the South Dublin seaside and swimming spots, and picking a terrible restaurant for lunch…”
How and when did you meet?
We met at Dublin Pride 2018.
Tell us a little about that first time you met…
Seán: I'll tell this one because Glen can't remember the details. We had been chatting on Tinder for about a week, and we decided to meet in a bar at Dublin Pride for a drink. All went really well, and a few too many drinks were had. We separated after a few hours to go meet our friends, but it wasn't long before I received a drunken phone call from Glen and a request to share my location so he could find me again. Glen has no real recollection of this as it was reaching that stage of the night! The next thing he knew, he was waking up naked in his mother's bathtub. The night hadn't ended quite how he had hoped, but we stayed in touch.
What was the first thing you noticed about each other?
Glen: On our second date, we went sea swimming. I remember Seán being very handsome, having a deep love for the South Dublin seaside and swimming spots, and picking a terrible restaurant for lunch.
Seán: Covered in tattoos.
Tell us about the standout moments in your relationship…
Seán: Definitely adopting our rescue dog Winnie is a standout. Glen kept his plans to adopt her a secret right until the last minute. I thought we were going to take a rescue dog for a walk, not take her home for good! It was a great surprise. She started out very anxious, but it has been lovely to see her grow in confidence. She's great fun and loves to keep us on our toes.
Glen: Apart from Winnie, the standouts have been our trips together. We're not super organised and can leave things a little last-minute. We like it this way and enjoy a bit of spontaneity. A standout moment is when Seán decided that he wanted to try a via ferrata in the Italian Dolomites with almost no research as to what that actually entailed, i.e., climbing up the side of a cliff face overlooking a treacherous gorge with some admittedly breathtaking views.
Have you ever faced any issues of non-acceptance?
Seán and Glen: We have been very fortunate in our experience. We have always been accepted by our friends, families, and work colleagues. We know that our experience does not represent the experience of all LGBTQIA+ people, and there is a lot of work still to be done.
What does marriage mean to you?
Seán and Glen: Always having your best pal by your side.
Who proposed and how?
Seán and Glen: Glen proposed. We were on holidays in Spain. We went to a lovely clifftop restaurant. Glen deliberately ordered a main course that the waiter said took half an hour and then suggested we go on a walk, which Seán did not want to go on. “Who leaves the restaurant in the middle of a meal??” To cap it off, we had actually already walked that same path earlier in the day. Despite all of this (perhaps concerningly), Seán did not suspect a thing, and it was still a very pleasant surprise when Glen got down on one knee.
When did you get married?
October 2024.
What was the main influence behind your wedding day?
Seán and Glen: We had visited Portugal on our first holiday together. Despite this trip being a disaster for a variety of reasons that we don't have time to get into, we fell in love with Portugal and the city of Lisbon. We've been back several times both on our own and with our families, so it felt like the right fit. We loved the idea of getting married abroad because we felt our guests would really enjoy that holiday feeling. Stylistically, Glen is an architect, and this made finding the perfect location a bit of a challenge. We wanted somewhere that looked beautiful and had a bit of an edge. Glen's number one request was no gold wedding chairs, which ruled out at least 70% of venues right from the start, which made Seán's life very difficult.
What was the most important thing to you surrounding your wedding?
Seán: Apart from saying our vows and starting our new lives together in front of all our most important people, our main goal was to make sure our guests had fun, especially as we were asking them to make a bit of a journey! We thought pretty carefully about the pace of the day, always trying to keep guests well fed and watered (particularly the Irish, as they love a well-stocked bar). We wanted to keep everything in the one venue to keep things simple. We talked a lot about the length of the ceremony (not too short, not too long), and we were blown away by our friend Kieran who acted as our celebrant and had the perfect mix of humour and sentiment. We also thought quite a bit about how to use the space and the music. We got pretty into the details trying to imagine what the day would be like not just for us but for our friends and family.
Glen: Please see above re gold wedding chairs.
Did you incorporate any family sentiments or traditions?
Glen: It wasn't the most traditional wedding. Our ceremony ended with our family and groomsmen and women dancing up the aisle to Kylie Minogue's In Your Eyes! During the ceremony, we asked our sisters to officiate the symbolic "Quaich" ritual, in which each side of the family pours a drink into a special cup, which is held by the couple and then drunk together, symbolising two clans coming together.
Seán: My wedding ring was an old family heirloom, which was originally my great-grandmother's, and we had it resized. We decided Glen's ring together, which, after much deliberation, was also a plain gold band.
Where did you find the bulk of your inspiration?
Seán and Glen: We started with a fairly clear sense of what we liked and how we wanted things to look, but found Pinterest a great resource for finding reference images to show our wedding planner and suppliers.
How did you choose your suppliers?
Seán and Glen: We first found the venue, La Distillerie, through trawling online and visited initially while on a weekend break with Glen's family in Lisbon celebrating his mum's birthday. From there, the venue recommended Francisca at Amor e Lima event planners in Lisbon. We think having a local planner is invaluable for those considering getting married abroad. They were able to guide us through the process and help us navigate the Portuguese system. They in fact started out as florists, so all arrangements were done in-house, and we were able to rent some beautiful larger plants for the ceremony. They recommended our caterers (Prime), who were a big hit with the guests (particularly the dessert table, a Portuguese favourite).
We used Palacio do Visconde Boutique Hotel as our base in Lisbon. Where to stay is an important decision, and the staff made everything really easy for us.
We found our photographer Adriana on Instagram. We loved her work but also her personality. We knew that we wanted a relaxed style of photographer, with lots of natural moments. We're both quite awkward in front of the camera, so it was important for us not to spend too long posing! You actually spend a lot of time with your photographer on the day, so it's an important relationship to get right.
We found our band through the site Fix The Music. Groove Outbreak are fantastic musicians and immediately filled the dancefloor. They had lots of videos online; these days it's easy to get a sense of the band, even if you can't see them perform in advance.
DJ Nuno, a local DJ from Lisbon, kindly paired up with our friend DJ Selky from Dublin, who always knows exactly how to read a crowd. The dancefloor was hopping right until the end!
Finally, we are obsessed with Portuguese custard tarts. For us, the number one are the original Pastéis de Belém, which we insist on eating by the trayful every time we visit Lisbon. We enquired at the counter to see if they would supply a hundred fresh tarts instead of a traditional wedding cake. Our wedding planner and caterers kindly did the rest, presenting them in a giant custard tart tower.
We had lots of help from our friends and family, including our celebrant, DJ, and chauffeur Luis, a fellow architect from Lisbon who lent us his bright orange vintage Saab.
What was the most difficult thing about planning your wedding?
Seán and Glen: We forget all the difficult things, because we actually just had a great time and would happily do it all again!
Where did you spend your honeymoon?
Seán and Glen: We spent a few days at the Independente Hotel in Comporta, not too far from Lisbon. We needed a couple of quiet days beside the beach and pool to rest and recuperate, and that's exactly what we got. The hotel is stylish, the staff are very friendly, and there are plenty of nice restaurants nearby.
Any advice for other couples planning their day and finding it difficult to navigate the journey?
Seán and Glen: We take a long time to make a decision (much to the annoyance of our families!). The most important decision is the venue and location — make sure you're 100% happy with that before making any other decisions. Once you have that right, everything else should fall into place. It has to, because then you have a deadline to get things done!
Seán and Glen’s Team
Photographer Adriana Morais
Planning and Flowers Amor e Lima
Venue La Distillerie
Catering and Beverages Prime Catering
Cake Pasteis de Belem
Hotel (Lisbon) Palácio do Visconde
Band Groove Outbreak
Glen's Suit Drakes
Seán's Suit Casely-Hayford, London
Makeup and Hair Vera Garcia, Agne Kanapeckaite (Let’s Hair)
More For You
